Barker Field was one of several airfields in the
Yorkdale
Yorkdale Shopping Centre, or simply Yorkdale, is a major retail shopping centre in the North York district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located at the intersection of Highway 401 and Allen Road, it opened in 1964 as the largest enclosed shoppi ...
area of
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
History
Opened in 1927, it was a civilian and privately owned airfield for the early era of flying in
Canada and was named after
William George Barker in 1931, a
First World War fighter ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
and
Victoria Cross recipient. It remained in use until 1953. The area (northwest corner of
Lawrence Avenue
Lawrence Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions (Lawrence Avenue East and Lawrence Avenue West) by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east-west streets in Toronto.
Route de ...
West and
Dufferin Street bounded by Dufflaw and Orfus) has since been re-developed as a commercial site (auto dealership, gas station and other businesses).
The airfield used a rudimentary grass or dirt surface for aircraft to take off and land. Originally three runways in a triangular configuration and later two runways in a T shape.
In 1931
Canadian Colonial Airlines flew from Barker Field to Buffalo.
From 1937 and through World War II Barkers Field was owned and operated by Cyril (Red) L Murray. He ran Murray Aeronautical Corp Limited from Barkers Field until he sold it in the late 1940s. Leavens Bros Air Services relocated to the aerodrome in 1937 building hangars and workshops for their use and remaining there until 1953.
[
From 1950 to 1954 it was home to Aero Activities Limited, a flying school operated by Marion Alice Orr.]
See also
* List of abandoned airports in Canada
* List of airports in the Greater Toronto Area
References
{{authority control
Defunct airports in Ontario